Friday, January 25, 2013

oh so sick

well my weekly roundup from the last two weeks will not have much to it. I have been doing more pinning than putting into practice. I have not been doing my cumulative exercise..after day 3 the pressure in my returned. Drs yesterday lead to the same insane sinus infection,bronchitis and an ear infection on both ears. Not a happy mom, crocheter or person in general. I will be back next week with more about pins, and recipies and projects..just logging on to say I havent given up my blog goal..just my sanity.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Cumulative exercise

I have been sick, dog sick for the last week..which has messed up my fitness goals somewhat. I couldn't lean over in fear that my head would explode from the shear pressure in my sinus cavity, and since moving from standing to sitting made me have a coughing fit like an 80 year old smoker, both yoga and cardio were out of the question. The amount of forceful blowing my nose and complaining loudly for all to hear, may have burned off a few calories..but not enough to matter.

So I have done a lot of iPad surfing while under my snugly covers, slathered in chest rub, and piling tissues by my side. I also spent a lot of time reading Facebook status's and came across my friend Tina's  new exercise goal..1 sit up each day for 50 days, cumulatively ...so by day 50 you will have done 50 sit-ups. After years of Y exercise classes, video programs, self training I thought, that might be too easy for me..I have the motivation, and the ability to do more than that amount of sit-ups..but what I need is a regimen .so the 50 days part is attractive to my way of thinking...I am using this plan though to add routine and to target more than just my stomach(although that IS the part I need the most work on)
Here is the pin I am using. http://pinterest.com/pin/240098223853867055/
But I am breaking it down as follows
Day1
1 jumping jack
1 push up
1 high knee
1 burpee
1 crunch
1 squat

So by day 50 I will have 50 of each of those..and we shall see how it goes,..please check in to see if I am accomplishing these goals!!!

Friday, January 11, 2013

Weekly Round up Pinterest, Goodreads and Ravelry

My successes and failures from the pinterest boards, a weekly look at all things pinny.
Food Board:
1.Crockpot oatmeal..this should have been wonderful..it was GROSS! Gluey in texture, blah in taste..gagged down  1/2 cup and then through out the other 6 cups! How wasteful!
http://pinterest.com/pin/240098223855984833/

2.Salt and Vinegar Potatoes
This was one of the BEST pins ever found. My kids ate these up as if I were handing them candy and coke! None left over, asked if I could make more!!! I used regular old russet potatoes and cooked about 40 min total..so use that as a guide. I did use the rice vinegar as suggested but since I was feeding the kids just left it at salt and vinegar...the rosemary and thyme would have made them skeptical.

http://pinterest.com/pin/240098223855257912/


3.White Bean Chowder:
In the past this has been a favorite for the kids so I revisited it. My husband did grocery shopping when we had the big snowstorm so when I wrote white beans on the  list I should have said cannelloni beans and all would have been smooth sailing. He brought home Great Northern Beans, perfectly acceptable as a white bean, but lacking of the creamy consistency needed for the soup.  so a normal win was a bit of a let down.
http://pinterest.com/pin/240098223855204399/

Books I have read this week:
Started Unbroken, Lauren Hildenbrand for my book club but I am in some sappy crying way of the world (could be because I am sick and finally going to the drs) and I had to put it down..yes I know he survives, but I cant get myself ready for the torture that is to come. http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1400064163/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link

Finished , Never Let Me Go  http://www.amazon.com/Never-NEVER-Ishiguro-Author-Mar-14-2006/dp/B009CROY7M/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357915743&sr=1-2&keywords=never+let+me+go+by+kazuo+ishiguro what a weird book..had no idea it was a movie until I started describing it to my husband and he said that is a movie...I am so out of it. Very Margaret Atwood in plot..not her writing style though.  Of course, Atwood is a favorite so I could be biased. 4 out 5 stars

Reading Birthmarked...wild book so far which feeds my dystopian YA need :)   http://www.amazon.com/Birthmarked-Trilogy-Quality-Caragh-OBrien/dp/0312674724/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357915856&sr=1-1&keywords=birthmarked



Ravelry... BUSY BUSY week for me..but most are gifts and at the end of the month I will share pictures..my favorite non gift is this pattern though:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cuddly-cat-crochet-scoodie-with-pockets
and I adapted it from cat to fox in this etsy listing:)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/120002261/child-foxy-scoodie

that's my week, Karen

Thursday, January 10, 2013

The Smoothie-r Side of Life

I hate fruit..I know WEIRD right..put a banana near me and I will flip out, plums..yuck, apricots, deceiving in their sweet little packaging..peaches..too messy, nectarines, too weird..OK I will eat green grapes occasionally, watermelon faithfully and if a Granny Smith apple happens to be cut up for me I will eat it. Otherwise,, fruit is just not a natural go to source for me.  If you are trying to watch weight then fruit should be an easy peasy go to snack. For me I have to FORCE myself to think about fruit for HOURS before I will eat it. 

Ask me how much money gets spent on fruit for my kiddos though..about $35 a week. They are fruit bats..in the summer the market is a 2 time a week happening..because those plums, nectarines, peaches and apricots that I hate..are their favorites and they will eat 3 a piece a day until I put the brakes on them..YEA for this mom instilling the OK to eat fruit when I shudder thinking about it.

Where am I going with this? The idea of smoothies has always made me a little grossed out..thick beverages in general are an ick factor.  I make them for the kids and at parties for my non alcoholic friends, but I tend to stick to water, wine and coffee...that's it no milk (another dietary need I guess), no juice, no powdery beverages.

So now I am trying to watch my weight..remember those goals? Weight Watchers has a free point on all fruit..not juices but fruit. I am also supposed to get in 3 dairy servings..and let me tell ya I had to ban myself from cheese cuz I have no self control there, and I am in trouble at the end of my day when my fruits are not eaten and my dairy is not checked off (creamer in coffee shouldn't count right?). I did a little research and of course the top bazillion sites say SMOOTHIES..gag...

I went to the frozen section at Wegmans and there were the jamba juice packets..whipped out my points calculator..2 points for 8 oz and it covers a full dairy and full fruit serving..double this and I am good to go. I know I have a million supplies ready for me to make these all naturally and healthy like ( and I do have a recipe for carrot, grapefruit ginger juice that I may still try) but I gotta say the Orange Dream Smoothie is delicious...so all you who knew this from the start, good deal! Probably will not ever go near those ones full of berries or mangoes...one step at a time.
http://www.jambajuice.com/more-jamba/jamba-goods/smoothie-kits

Friday, January 4, 2013

Pinterest Round Up

Ok working on those goals..and one both my personal and business list i had "Use Pinterest more actively" in other words..no mindless searching for hours whenever a lull int he day appears...oh wait I can STILL do that!

Here they are my USED pins this week:
Dinner Repeats Board
Made Taco Pasta on Tuesday night...you would think the fact that all the things in there are foods my children like would mean this was a winner..NOPE Fail. I think the idea of tacos and pasta together in a harmonious dish was the fail part..Brady ate the meat, Mitchell had the pasta and Ryan acted as if I were poisoning him...which then left a lot of leftovers and the my husbands portion control went out the window...

http://pinterest.com/pin/240098223855846432/

The Next night was Wednesday, Randy's day off from work, and we normally have tacos or nachos or fajitas on that night as it is his favorite food.  I made this Baked Chicken Fajitas with a side of refried beans and a bunch of fresh chopped veggies..SCORE for the WIN! They knew what they were talking about here...and there was a few leftovers so that meant lunch for Randy as well! 
http://pinterest.com/pin/240098223855963815/


Crochet Board:
Made lovey babies following a link found on pinterest..so sweet!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/119426192/lovey-heart-babies
here is the link to teh pinterest page
http://pinterest.com/pin/240098223855953000/

pin away....

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

2013 is HERE

Here I am, back at the blog. Yes, I slacked since June, no I don't really have a good excuse other than slipped my mind for so long I forgot to get back to it! I also slacked in other ways...weight loss, exercise, but hey maybe new years should have 6 month reviews or something! I have many shop goals for myself, listed on my www.facebook.com/DuncanCreative page but my personal goals well..you have seen them before..but here goes

1.  Lose the last 15 pounds..I lost 17, gained back 7, been OK about portion control (other than the dreaded coffee creamer) so in reality I need to lose 25..but 15 is a great goal for now (6 month review remember?) so back to tracking what  I eat, using weight watchers and exercising...without the Y! I have down loaded some apps, have the fitness channel on the t and if all else fails a bunch of wii fitness games..get moving Karen!

2,  Grow out my hair. My friend and hair stylist is pregnant..I have a goal of making it through through the pregnancy and maternity leave until September..I might need a trim or two , mainly so I can peek in on her and here the pregnancy stories but I want hair like this:
http://pinterest.com/pin/240098223855947218/


3.  Utilize Pinterest..and keep track of it! Hey I have a BLOG, what a great place to round up all those tips, patterns and recipes..than here??

4. Make sure that each door in my house has a door knob on it..seriously I have pulled out the entire door knob on no less than 3 doors in the last week..no more..and hey it is good to have 1 attainable goal immediately.

Happy New Year!